What is a key disadvantage of relying solely on biometric verification?

Relying solely on biometric verification indeed presents a significant disadvantage due to privacy concerns and potential data breaches. This form of identification uses unique biological traits such as fingerprints, facial recognition, or iris scans to authenticate a user. While these traits are complex and hard to replicate, they also raise serious privacy issues. Individuals may feel uneasy about how their biometric data is collected, stored, and used, as it is intrinsically personal and immutable; if compromised, unlike passwords, a person's biometric information cannot be changed.

Additionally, there is a risk of large-scale data breaches where sensitive biometric information can be stolen. Such breaches can have consequential impacts, as compromised biometric data can lead to identity theft and unauthorized access to secure systems. The permanence of biometric traits adds a layer of complexity to securing this kind of data, as once it is breached, the individual cannot simply replace it like a password.

While biometric verification offers high security and unique identifiers, the associated privacy issues and risk of data breach make it insufficient as a standalone security measure. It emphasizes the need for multifactor authentication systems, which provide an additional layer of protection.